Full court reference held to bid farewell to CJP Saqib Nisar

Justice Khosa to take over office of supreme judge

ISLAMABAD: A full court reference was held to honour Chief Justice Saqib Nisar as he bids farewell to the office of the country's supreme judge on Thursday.

Apart from Justice Nisar, Chief Justice-designate Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and President Supreme Court Bar Association Amanullah Kanrani addressed the event.

A peek into the judicial career of Justice Nisar

Justice Nisar visibly changed his approach in the last year of his tenure and initiated ’ judicial activism', taking multiple suo motu notices in matters of public interest.

It is also a fact that his judicial activism has overshadowed his previous pro-executive and pro-parliament approach which was also characterised by judicial restraint. Many lawyers describe his judicial activism as a ‘U-turn’ in his approach.

Justice Nisar was elevated as a judge of the Lahore High Court on May 22, 1998. Later he took oath under the provisional constitutional order (PCO) in 2000 after a military coup but refused to take oath on the PCO of November 2007.

On February 18, 2010, he was elevated to the Supreme Court and took oath as the CJP on December 3, 2016. His career as an SC judge can be divided into different phases.

Justice Nisar’s elevation to the SC was a dramatic one. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led government had appointed him as the LHC chief justice and elevated Khawaja Sharif in the apex court without the consent of the former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry.

However, Justice Nisar refused to become the LHC chief justice. Subsequently, the PPP government withdrew its decision and directly elevated him to the SC with the consent of the CJP.

Till 2017, Justice Nisar was known as a judge who gave a proper opportunity of hearing to lawyers but in his last year, many senior lawyers avoided appearing before him due to his allegedly rude conduct. Harsh words were also exchanged between Justice Nisar and top attorneys during this year.

He was visibly tough on politicians, media men and top officials. However, no visible change was witnessed in his approach towards the military establishment.

Justice Nisar not only adjudicated matters related to the public interest but also visited different hospitals, jails etc. He also started a campaign to collect funds for the construction of dams. Despite reservations, people appreciate him for highlighting the issue of water shortage in the country.